Capillary faucet
- Thread starter keihatsu
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Chucktown PE
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I see how water will travel up the capillary tubes, I don't see how the water will drip from them.
Cohesion and adhesion will keep the water in the tube. If those forces are in balance, then the adhesion can be overcome when meniscus' touch and water bonds through hydrogen bonding. If enough tubes are arranged together, a droplet will form that gravity can get ahold of.
It's similar to how water gets into a coconut. A very small amount of water will flow through a single faucet, but if you were to stair-step an array of capillary faucets up the side of a house, you'd have enough water flowing down to provide electricity for the house.
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